1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to firearms and weapons, and, more particularly to the more complete employment of, recognition of and conformity with the principles of reverse thrust in conjunction with the nozzle effect, both as applicable to subsonic and/or supersonic gas flow, so as to produce greater momentum of said gasses in order to generate more significant forces for use in the reduction of muzzle jump and/or recoil of firearms and weapons upon firing.
2. Description of the Background Art
The firing of projectiles, bullets, shot, and shells (hereinafter “projectile”) from firearms and weapons is an advancement that is well known in the art. The act of firing such firearms and weapons is known to result in recoil and muzzle jump, the reduction of either or both of which is the subject of the present invention. Recoil is the result of rearward acting force acting upon the weapon, and upon the shooter, during the firing process, which recoil is created by the forward momentum of the projectile. Muzzle jump is an upward movement of the barrel upon firing. Muzzle jump results from the recoil force acting along the longitudinal axis of the barrel, which axis is typically above the point of resistance supporting the weapon. For example, a shoulder-fired weapon, such as a rifle, shotgun or submachine gun, has a point of resistance—other than the resistance presented by the weight of the weapon itself—where the butt of the weapon rests against the shooter's shoulder. The highest point on the butt of the weapon, namely the heel, is typically one or more inches below the axis of the barrel, and hence below the level at which the recoil force acts. The spacing between the heel and the uppermost exterior portion of the barrel, including what is referred to as the rib, is a term of art referred to as the amount of drop at the heel. As a result of the drop at the heel, the recoil force vector acts above the point of resistance thereby resulting in a moment force that causes the barrel to pivot upward. Similarly, in the case of a hand-held weapon such as a pistol, the uppermost portion of the grip or the main bearing portion of the hand upon the rear of the grip is below the level of the barrel. Since the barrel axis represents the recoil force vector, muzzle jump is also experienced with handguns.
Recoil and muzzle jump are undesirable for a number of reasons. For example, in anticipation of recoil and muzzle jump shooters have been known to flinch, resulting in an uncontrollable momentary closing of the eye, which flinching is a cause of poor aim and missed targets. Furthermore, physically resisting muzzle jump and recoil tends to fatigue the shooter and inhibits the shooter's ability to fire a large number of projectiles, particularly in rapid succession. In addition, the reduction of muzzle jump and recoil will enable the use of larger mass projectiles. Given that the recoil force is dependent in part on the weight of the firearm (e.g. the heavier the firearm, the lower the resulting recoil experienced by the shooter, and visa versa), and that the use of lighter weight firearms is more desirable for military and police use, as well as any other uses that require one to carry the firearm for long periods of time, recoil reduction increases the shooter's ability to tolerate the firing of larger mass projectiles, than otherwise and/or to use a lighter firearm that otherwise. In addition, since recoil and muzzle jump each cause the firearm to move out of alignment with the target, follow-up shots at the target are more difficult and the ability of the shooter to rapidly and accurately return the firearm to a properly aimed position is greatly hindered. Accordingly, the reduction of muzzle jump and/or recoil enhances the shooter's ability to rapidly and accurately return the firearm to a properly aimed position.
In the case of submachine guns the successive, incremental muzzle jumps caused by rapid automatic fire results in muzzle “Climb” which raises the firearm out of alignment with the intended target during firing. Current methods to overcome “Climb” include, but are not limited to, the reduction of the cyclic rate of fire (e.g. from 800 or 650 rounds per minute to 440 rounds per minute) and use of pre-selected three, four or five round firing burst limiters. While such methods tend to curb, but not eliminate, the aggregate amount of “Climb” per firing burst, they do so at the cost of reduction of the total number of rounds accurately deliverable to the target within a given measure of time. Consequently, “Climb” represents a dangerous impediment to lawful users of submachine guns, such as military and police (e.g. SWAT teams). The reduction of muzzle jump in submachine guns through the use of the reverse thrust system equates to the reduction of “Climb” and thus to the ability to deliver a greater total number of rounds to the target within an equal measure of time. While the location of the reverse thrust device is still intended to be located at a safe distance from the chamber of the barrel, given the significantly shorter barrels lengths commonly used in submachine guns the relative location may be closer to the muzzle.
The reduction of recoil and muzzle jump is also desirable in other applications, such as those applications involving large weapons and/or military cannons. Specifically, the reduction of recoil shock forces will improve the viability of electronic and mechanical systems and equipment in military hardware such as tanks and ships. The reduction of recoil shock will also benefit the physical and mental well being of personnel in proximity to the firing station associated with large weapons. Finally, the reduction of recoil will result in less fatigue and shock stress for metals and other components of the weapon and firing stations, thereby improving durability.
While the background art reveals several attempts directed to reducing muzzle jump and recoil, it does not reveal a system for reducing muzzle jump and/or recoil that recognizes or applies the greater benefits available through observance of and conformity with, or material conformity with, the applicable principles of reverse thrust. Moreover, while the background may include the use of conduits for directing gas flow it does not also contemplate the conduits to function as nozzles or to function as nozzles in compliance with the goal of maximization of the principles of reverse thrust.
For example, it is known to provide porting for shotgun and firearm barrels to reduce recoil and muzzle jump. The porting of the barrel enables the venting of gases in a generally upward direction during the firing process. Such gasses thus escaping on a wide cone, unconcentrated flow basis are subject to immediate and broad expansion directly diminishing the opposing force that the gas flow was intended to create for the purpose of reducing muzzle jump and/or recoil. The venting of gases in this manner is extremely inefficient, and thus incomparable, in that it generates only minimal downward forces on the barrel to stabilize the muzzle and reduce muzzle jump. Such systems fail to harness and thus maximize the otherwise available reverse thrust forces. The inherent inefficiency of a number of systems is only slightly offset by venting barrel gases at or near the muzzle end of the barrel, at which location a certain minimal advantage due to increased leverage applicable to muzzle jump is possible. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,943, issued to Kelly, discloses a gun-leveling device that comprises a barrel having trapezoidal slots for venting muzzle gases to prevent muzzle jump. U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,799, issued to Tocco, discloses a muzzle brake for attachment to a handgun for venting gas in a generally upwardly direction to assist in maintaining the firearm stable. U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,413, issued to Gwinn, Jr., discloses a muzzle attachment for a firearm barrel. The muzzle attachment is configured to act as both a muzzle brake to reduce recoil and as a compensator to reduce upward movement of the muzzle when the firearm is fired. U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,895, issued to Dickman et al., discloses a gun barrel defining trapezoidal ports positioned on radials between fifteen and twenty-five degrees from the upper centerline of the barrel to prevent muzzle jump. U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,549, issued to Clouse, discloses a barrel porting system comprising a barrel adapted to define a pair of rows of spaced apart venting orifices extending through the barrel to vent exhaust gases. The venting orifices are configured to vent gases both upwardly and rearwardly, so that resultant vector forces generated by the escaping gases are translated into downwardly and forwardly directed components to reduce muzzle jump and recoil. U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,727, issued to Nigge, discloses a muzzle-mounted attachment that deflects combustion gases after leaving the barrel. As noted hereinabove, each of the above-referenced patents disclose systems for venting gases at or near the muzzle end of the barrel.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,804, issued to Rohr, discloses a pistol adapted with barrel openings leading to elongated gas transfer passageways extending parallel to and disposed on either side of the barrel which passageways terminate in gas escape ports. The gas escape ports are configured to extend upwardly and to either side at an acute angle to vertical such that the escaping gas tends to force the open end of the barrel downwardly upon firing. By configuring mere escape ports in the angled configuration disclosed, Rohr fails to take full advantage of reverse thrust potential generated by the escaping gas thereby significantly reducing the opposing force directed to moving the barrel downward. Rohr also fails to disclose nozzles for concentrating the escaping gases to maximize reverse thrust or to control supersonic or subsonic gas flow. Furthermore, Rohr teaches positioning of the barrel openings immediately forward of the cartridge chamber thereby dangerously diminishing the structural integrity of the weapon at a point of extreme internal pressure. Also, recoil reduction can only be accomplished by a rearward, not forward, directed gas flow so as to generate a forward thrust to overcome the rearward recoil force.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,484, issued to Bekker et al., discloses a lift compensator adapted for rotatable adjustment on the flash hider of a gun barrel for redirecting gases discharged from the flash hider to compensate for muzzle lift. By locating the device outside of and at the forward end of the barrel, the device deals primarily with expanding and dissipating gasses exiting the barrel as opposed to gasses under concentrated pressure and thus the relative effectiveness of recoil reduction and reduction of muzzle jump is substantially reduced. Also, due to inertia, once the projectile exits the barrel the gas remaining in the barrel will tend to exit through the center of the Bekker device rather than through the Bekker ports. The device disclosed by Bekker et al., further fails to disclose integrated nozzle effects or concentration of redirected gas flow for maximizing reverse thrust.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,397, issued to Seidler, discloses a device for reducing recoil in small arms by incorporating deflector surfaces for upwardly deflecting gases generated during the firing of a projectile, and thus also fails to utilize the principles of reverse thrust. The deflector surfaces disclosed by Seidler merely allow the escaping gases to disperse and thus also fail to maximize reverse thrust potential by failing to concentrate and redirect the gases in a compact and/or concentrated stream and at a specific angle or vector best suited to produce reverse thrust forces for the intended purposes. Again, the device deals primarily with expanding gasses exiting the barrel as opposed to gasses under concentrated pressure and thus the relative effectiveness of recoil reduction and reduction of muzzle jump is substantially reduced.
While the background art reveals a number of attempts directed to reducing muzzle jump and recoil, there remain a number of significant shortcomings with apparatus and methods disclosed. The primary disadvantage present in the art is a virtually complete failure to utilize principles of reverse thrust to create and direct streams of concentrated gas flow so as to maximize and harness counteracting forces for their intended use.
A further significant shortcoming involves the effectiveness of muzzle gas venting structures positioned near the muzzle end of the barrel and angularly disposed relative to the upper centerline of the gun barrel. Specifically, the angled vent configuration is less effective at reducing muzzle jump since only a portion of the thrust force generated by the escaping gas is directed in the full vertical direction.
Finally, the venting ports disclosed in the background art tend to be located near the muzzle end of the barrel. Accordingly, the effective venting of muzzle gas commences after the projectile has exited the barrel thereby delaying the onset of counteracting forces generated by the escaping gas.
In addition, none of the attempts disclose a structure that directs a sufficiency of muzzle gas momentum in a rearward direction as is required for counteracting recoil forces.
These and other disadvantages present in the art provide opportunities for substantial improvements and innovation. Thus, there exists a need for improvements in the field of firearms and weapons to reduce muzzle jump and recoil that overcomes the problems and disadvantages present in the background art.